Mariah Carey Unseats Wham! With the Most Played Christmas Song in Britain

Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas has emerged victorious as the most-played Christmas song of 2015, according to data released today by music licensing company PPL.

The multi-platinum 1994 hit was the most-played track across TV and radio during last year’s festive season, pipping to the post Last Christmas by Wham! to take the top spot. An all-British line-up completed the top five with Fairytale of New York by The Pogues featuring the late Kirsty MacColl at Number 3 and Welsh rocker, Shakin’ Stevens, at Number 4 with Merry Christmas Everyone. East London boyband, East 17, claimed the fifth spot with Stay Another Day, the 1994 track which went on to become their biggest ever hit single and only track to reach Number 1 in the UK Official Singles Chart.

Other entries in the Top 20 include Christmas Wrapping (Number 17) by the American new wave band, The Waitresses, and Happy Xmas (War Is Over) (Number 16) by John & Yoko/Plastic Ono Band with the Harlem Community Choir.

The PPL most-played Christmas Chart is fast-becoming an annual industry tradition, adding to the excitement in anticipating the season’s top Christmas hits year-on-year.

Commenting on the Christmas Chart, PPL CEO, Peter Leathem, said, “Music is ubiquitous with Christmas, traditionally going hand-in-hand with the festive season. At this time of the year, classic tracks and sing-a-long hits nurture nostalgia and entertain radio and TV audiences across the UK. PPL’s chart shows how Christmas-themed music can transcend genres with pop, new wave, rock and roll and gospel music featuring. Christmas airplay is well underway this year and we’ll be keeping an eye on it to see what proves popular in 2016.”

Mariah also reigned supreme on the radio where All I Want for Christmas Is You was the most-played radio hit throughout the Christmas period. The top three songs in the radio-only chart mirrored the overall most-played Christmas tracks on the airwaves with Wham! and The Pogues taking second and third position again.

However, it was Michael Bublé’s version of Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) that proved most popular on TV. The original rock and roll version performed by Darlene Love claimed the Number 2 spot on the TV-only chart, which reveals the most-played Christmas songs on TV. The success of both versions may be attributable to the heavy rotation of the track on the Sky Network last year.

PPL data also revealed the most popular dates last year for Christmas music across TV and radio. Unsurprisingly, the most popular day was Christmas Day, followed very closely by Christmas Eve while 50 per cent of the Christmas music broadcast on TV and radio was played in the week leading up to Christmas.

In 2015, the first day where a spike in Christmas music was recorded was November 14, coinciding with the launch of Smooth Xmas on radio. A second spike was recorded on November 27th where Christmas airplay increased across a range of sources.